However, the maximum sentence the juvenile can receive under existing law is three years.

According to the Hindustan Times, the charges against the juvenile show he also suggested throwing her from the moving bus naked.

A police officer told the newspaper: "Of all the persons in the bus, two had engaged in the most barbarism - Ram Singh, the main accused in the case, and the juvenile.

Threat to every woman

"Both of them had subjected her to sexual abuse twice. Singh was the first to rape her, followed by the juvenile and then Akshay. Later when she lost consciousness, Singh and the juvenile raped her a second time."

Police are awaiting tests that will prove the juvenile is too young to be tried in an adult court. At present the only evidence proving he is 17 is his school leaving certificate.

The victim's father has said that despite his age, he should be given the death penalty if found guilty.

He told the Economic Times that it was the youngest member of the gang that persuaded his daughter to board the bus. "The juvenile should be punished first. He was the one who lured my daughter into the bus and tortured her most mercilessly. He should be hanged like the other five accused.

"Imagine his brutality when he is 17. What a demon he would become once he is older. The government should reduce the juvenile age to 12 or 15 years. All the six accused should never be allowed to step out of the jail. They must be hanged. They are a threat to every woman on the street."